I''m so freaking tired of my hair!

[tocktick]

I'm so sorry you're having this issue. I don't know exactly what the problem could be. If I were you though, I'd identify the root cause of the issue before trimming. I'm not saying never trim but I believe if you don't figure out what the issue is, you'll keep trimming away because the issue will keep reoccurring.

Personally, I've found bentonite clay solves a lot of my issue with knots, dentagling and dryness. As soon as the treatment wore off (in about 3 weeks), my hair didn't hold moisture as well and it seemed to tangle up lot easier. Dentangling was also quite a bit harder. Since you wear weaves (so your hair is braided underneath), I thought I'd mention that I've found braiding/twisting also seems to encourage knots for me. I just realised this a couple of days when I converted some twists into braids. My hair was virtually SSK free prior to the twists but it seemed the majority of strands I touched when I took a twist down had knots on them. If my hair was straight, this issue wouldn't exist. Regardless, the pros of the PS currently outweigh the cons, so I will be doing this until summer 2010. I'll trim the ends at around that stage.

 

[glamazon386]

It's probably the wet bunning Ediese. Sometimes it does more harm than good. I would do a protein treatment and get a small trim.

 

[Lady Esquire]

Try the salt treatment!!! My ends being ugly and hideous was what made me start using it - dry, crispy, easily bent, and a crazy number of splits. I think that my ends just had higher/different moisture requirements than the rest of my head/upper sections of strands did.

Also - what state are your scissors in? Cutting split ends off with scissors that are less than razor sharp will encourage the creation of more split ends.

What are you doing with your ends while they are under your weave?

JustKiya, break down the salt treatment please. I'm curious.

Sending you a pm

oke: Pssst, Gym.

Ediese, wet bunning cAn be just as detrimental as a wash and go because the hair is still shrinking up. At least that's what I've found to be the case for my hair.

Very good point.

My theory isn't popular but I'm gonna tell you my take on this.

All things wears down with time whether you like it or not. The more you wear your hair out, the sooner the wear and tear will happen. In other words, split ends are inevitable because the oldest part of your hair, ie the ends, will experience wear and tear first.

If you dust frequently, you prevent them from ever occurring and you get to enjoy hair that never seems to tangle much. You wait too long and not only does the hair split but the splits may also tear away so that you could swear you don't see splits yet can't understand why your hair is thin, or you just find it tangling more. The broken pieces you were seeing were either split ends tearing away or the skinny weak ends left behind by split ends.

This is why I'm all for trimming this much __ every two months on all your strands. That's how much 1/4 inch is. No need to waste time doing search and destroy. There's no way you can examine every last strand on your head, and you won't be able to tell when the split has ripped off to leave one thin strand that is unsplit, so why even bother? Better to be proactive about preventing the problem and in addition to protective styling, nip the problem in the bud. In other words, don't wait for the problem to arise; deal with it before it ever comes to be by making routine dusting part of your regimen.

I am experiencing the same as OP on top of postpartum shedding. The trimming makes a lot of sense.

 

[JustKiya]

JustKiya, break down the salt treatment please. I'm curious.

There are a couple of threads with more details/results/discussion (An Accidental Bit of Moisturizing Mojo is the longest, I think), and it's also called the KiyaFizzle ( ) but basically, you add a teaspoon of salt to about 8-10oz of conditioner, and use it like a DC - and it leaves your hair amazingly moisturized and soft and lovely. I use it about every other week, or so.

 

[bravenewgirl87]

Your hair needs moisture. I started using my old relaxed hair routine rigorously but, I changed the products. I went back to co-washing regularly, but I use Lustrasilk cholesterol and leave it in my hair (using this method:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaji4dPyFbw) .

For weekly washes: I pre-poo with Cholesterol or AO GBP mixed with shea butter honey and black Castor oil. I wash with Miss Jessie's Super-Sudsy Shampoo. I shake and squeeze the water out of my hair then Jessicurl Weekly Deep Treatment for no less than 45 minutes. I've seen such a huge change in my hair for the better.

A lot of what was making my hair dry and my ends rough was the shampoos I was using. I stopped using Organix, Oscar Blandi and even Shikakai bar.

 

[Stella B.]

Sometimes dry hair and breakage equals too much protein. You may need to up your moisturizing and lay off products with protein for a minute to see. That has happened to me before. I didn't get the breakage. But, I got the dryness (my hair is never dry). I had to do moisturizing deep conditioning treatments twice a week for almost a month (maybe 3 weeks or so) for my hair to get right again.

ITA with fyb87! When my hair was snapping off at the ends, I had to take a good long look at my protein moisture balance. But before I could do that, first I had to tone down the shedding. I managed to do that with Queen Helene garlic shampoo. There are better garlic treatments and shampoos out there, but I didn't have access to them at that time. After about 3 weeks of shampooing with this, the shedding and breaking ceased. Then I reviewed my regimen, and decided that I was using too many products with protein in them; blocking (coating the hair,) and preventing moisture from getting in. Start asking yourself some questions-What products are you using to moisturize? shampoo? Take a close look at the products you use most often, and start eliminating one at a time until you find the culprit. It's going to take a while, but this is an important step in finding the right protein/moisture balance for your hair, and keeping it healthy.

 

[OneInAMillion]

I don't get it. When I got all my relaxed ends cut in April, I stopped getting knots and tangling issues. I swear all of my million and one split ends were GONE. I searched and couldn't find one. It was so easy for me to detangle. My old issuw has arisen again. My ends are dreadful. I don't understand what's going on. I have a billion split ends. I don't even use heat that often. I only used it once or twice since April, and I always use A LOT of heat protectant. Where the heck is all these split ends coming from? I swear it looks like I have to cut 2". Search and destroy is definitely not for me at this point.

Anyway, last night I had to blowdry my hair to get ready for an install today. It took so long to do it, and I saw so many broken pieces falling that I got really worried. I already washed and detangled, and my hair usuallong won't shed again until I detangle days later. Even after I blowdried and combed through my hair, it was getting tangled at the ends. I saw a lot of shedded hair, and broken pieces that had splits at the ends. My hair feels extremely dry even though it's loaded with moisturizer and oil. I deep conditioned Saturday night and left it overnight, but that didn't help. The ends are popping off. If I grab the end of my ponytail and go down the length of the strands, I get a lot of hair in my fingers. I'm just so freaking tired. I think the best thing for me is just putting it away for a little while. In the state that I'm in, I might be really tempted to slap on a relaxer. I doubt I would have these issues if my hair was straight. Maybe I'll try the BKT. I don't know.

Thanks for this post! I think we have a very similar hair type/texture/density and I've been having the same issues--all the way down to thinking about getting a BKT or a relaxer.

My suggestion - try a protein treatment. I think you said your hair doesn't like protein? If that's the case, try a porosity treatment. When I have issues with raggedy ends these are the first things I try. And wet bunning just doesn't work for the ends of my hair so I really try not to do it.

Let us know what helps!

 

[Lady Esquire]

There are a couple of threads with more details/results/discussion (An Accidental Bit of Moisturizing Mojo is the longest, I think), and it's also called the KiyaFizzle ( ) but basically, you add a teaspoon of salt to about 8-10oz of conditioner, and use it like a DC - and it leaves your hair amazingly moisturized and soft and lovely. I use it about every other week, or so.

The KiyaFizzle, huh? I have seen that somewhere and was too lazy to find out what you were referring to. How often do you do this salt treatment....oh wait, the KiyaFizzle?

 

[JustKiya]

The KiyaFizzle, huh? I have seen that somewhere and was too lazy to find out what you were referring to. How often do you do this salt treatment....oh wait, the KiyaFizzle?

About every other week, or so. For a while in the summer, I was doing it weekly.

 

[jaiku]

I think we have a similiar hair type. I have the same issue. I notice that the hair instead of splitting at the very end it starts at the section of the last coil of a strand. This is usually about an inch and a quarter from the end for me. I actually had more length and less splits relaxed. I have been stuck at armpit for years. I use heat like once or twice a year only.

I have been on the fence about a relaxer for some time.

 

[Amerie123]

Sending you a pm

Can you just post your pm on this thread... pleeeaase?

 

[MissMeWithThatIsh]

How is your protein? usage?